Product Review: Paper Boat Drinks

April 1, 2016

Paper Boat drinks are impossible to ignore in the sea of juices and beverages at any local supermarket or grocery store these days. The design of the container is unusual and eye-catching. Their on trend doodles and a nostalgic tagline ‘drinks and memories’ push you to queue up at the payment counter. They are designed to appeal to your childhood memories, and you want to give them a try, at least once!

Paper Boat claims ‘No colours. No preservatives. No artificial flavours. Basically none of that junk.’ Paper Boat, from the house of Hector Beverages, have a variety of fruit drinks which are based on all kinds of flavors that we loved as kids and still do. These drinks are available in 11 flavours – Anar, Chilled rasam, Ginger, Lemon tea, Tulsi tea, Aamras, Jaljeera, Kokum, Jamun, Aam paana and Golgappe. They use real fruit pulp and no kind of chemicals or flavors. They are free of preservatives and artificial flavours. I strongly feel that it is better to have a Paper Boat drink instead of a carbonated drink. They come for Rs. 30 – 35 for 250 ml which I feel is not a lot for a healthy and refreshing drink.

I was lucky to be sent some Paper Boat drinks to try while I was in India in January. They came in a super cute gift box in my favorite color pink. It’s definitely a box full of memories. It has some pictures on it and this poem that says – ‘A half – moon button from my school uniform, An earring that misses it twin, My first tooth to fall, Ma’s photo when she was 10, A butterfly’s wing, A marble that almost ran away, The stub of my lucky pencil, Stamps from yesterday. In a box, I saved My riches, bit by precious bit.’ I was super excited to see the box and I am going to use it to store my makeup!

Paper Boat drinks come in a nice tetra pack which is easy to carry around in bag. Normally if you buy any tetra pack you have to use straw and finish it in one go as it is difficult to carry it around. But Paper Boat tetra pack comes with a screw lid. You can open, take a sip and keep rest in your bag. Paper Boat pouches are made of a four-part laminate. The two outer layers are a blend of proprietary polypropylene and polyethylene. This makes the pack withstand extremes in pressure and heat while at the same time being easy to print upon. The penultimate layer is made of bonded aluminium. This is to keep any form of moisture and vapour entering the pack and tampering the goodness of the drink inside. Of course this layer makes no contact with the drink. That’s the job of the inner (and final) layer. This layer is made of virgin, food-grade polypropylene which keeps the content fresh, safe and tasty. Phew! A lot of time has gone in their packaging I say!

I was sent a total of 6 flavors to try. But I have my favorites! Aamras which tastes of mangoes, and is thicker than the usual Maaza but isn’t artificially sweetened. Kokum juice is tangy and a bit spicy, but soothing and something unusual. Jaljeera is the perfect mix of cumin, rock salt, lemon juice and black pepper. Jamun kala khatta tastes of salted jaamun, spicy, tangy and leaves a faint aftertaste. And Aam Panna which has the perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavor of raw mango and a hint of spicy khatta meetha taste.

Paper Boat juices do give you a much needed energy boost if you are tired and if you really want something refreshing. It will be really cooling for the body in hot months ahead. Their unusual flavors and handy packaging is an added treat. So this summer, ditch those colas and give these drinks a try!